SonyLIV third Indian video-streaming app after Hotstar and JioTV to cross 100M Play Store downloads
According to a 2018 App Annie report, SonyLIV’s MAUs doubled after it started streaming India's cricket matches. Even app installs recorded a massive 246 percent growth on Google Play Store.
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SonyLIV has become the third Indian video-streaming app — after Hotstar and JioTV — to cross 100 million downloads on Google Play Store. Its app downloads now stand at 109 million.
Its desi peers ALTBalaji, Eros Now, and SunNXT have over 10 million downloads each, while ZEE5 has crossed 50 million downloads. Global streaming giants Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have over 500 million and 100 million respectively.
SonyLIV, owned by Sony Pictures Networks, took six years (it launched in 2013) to achieve this feat. At present, it offers more than 4,000 hours of content spanning across genres in multiple languages: English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, and Telugu.
It claims to have witnessed a 3X increase in monthly active users (MAUs) in 2019. The platform also records 100 downloads per minute, and has grown users' total time spent by 7X.
Earlier this month, SonyLIV also unveiled an AR-enabled gaming platform through which it plans to reach 50 million users in India's rapidly growing OTT industry.
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It also owns the rights to multiple sports league. In 2018, it had acquired the streaming rights of India’s cricket tours to South Africa, England, and Australia, and also the FIFA World Cup in Russia. This is in addition to rights of the Australian Open, NBA, Commonwealth Games, MotoGP, La Liga, and UEFA. Indian cricket team's upcoming tour of West Indies will also be streamed by the platform.
According to a 2018 App Annie report, SonyLIV’s MAUs doubled after it started streaming India's cricket matches. Even "app installs recorded a massive 246 percent growth on Google Play Store," the report stated.
Viewership soared too with the platform witnessing a 250 percent rise in viewership, 475 percent in hours spent, and 69 percent in average time spent during the 2018 India-South Africa series.
“These numbers indicate India’s growing appetite for sports content on internet,” SonyLIV said in a prior statement.
Besides sports and Indian content, the platform also streams TVF shows, including Tripling, Kota Factory, and so on. It even owns the rights to a slew of popular English content and award-winning shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale, The Good Doctor, Mr. Mercedes, Damages, and Counterpart.
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)
